IN studying the Bible in the light of Christian Science, one's efforts are constantly rewarded with new and valuable discoveries. Even the Old Testament historical records, when read with some measure of spiritual understanding, are full of helpful significance. The fact that God has always been able to find an instrument through whom to carry out His will, no matter how foreign may have been the previous thought of the individual selected, is also apparent. All things being possible with God, He works through the one best qualified to perform each service; and not only does He raise up leaders when occasion demands, but He finds in each individual consciousness a response to His call.
According to the Scriptures, the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the restoration of King Solomon's temple had been foretold by Jeremiah long before the days of the Babylonian captivity. Even the name of Cyrus is mentioned in the prophetic record, and it seems evident that his advent had been awaited by the Jewish exiles with the same longing expectancy with which their successors were afterward to look for the coming of the Messiah to save them from the Roman yoke. While it is not certain as to who actually wrote the prophecy that is attributed to Jeremiah, one thing is sure, namely, that the Bible narrative is substantially correct, for modern discoveries of ancient records in the ruins of Babylon have confirmed the Hebrew Scriptures and have thrown additional light upon this somewhat obscure period of sacred history. Whether Jeremiah, Isaiah, or Ezra wrote the words of the prophecy, it matters not. It is sufficient to know that the prophecy came true, and the record which has been preserved in the book of Isaiah reads in part as follows: "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, . . . I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: . . . For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though them hast not known me." In the preamble of the prophecy it is said of Cyrus, "He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid."
Just what the antecedent conditions were which ultimately led up to the performance of the important part that King Cyrus was to play in human history, we may never know. It seems fairly certain, however, that Daniel was one of the chief factors in the great political reformation that was about to take place, and it is more than probable that he had actually called the king's attention to the work that had been prophetically assigned to him in the Hebrew Scriptures. During the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, Daniel and the three young men who had been selected from among the Jewish captives for special service at the court had undoubtedly done much toward spiritualizing the general consciousness of their time. On several occasions they had so conclusively demonstrated the superior wisdom and protecting power of the God of Israel, as compared with the pagan deities of Babylonia, that the king had advanced Daniel and his three colleagues to positions of high authority in the empire. Daniel's reputation as a wise and influential statesman had evidently reached far into the surrounding provinces, for we find that Darius almost immediately after the conquest of Babylon made him chief of the three presidents of the Medo-Persian confederacy.
